Chile Defence and Security Report 2015

Domestic security threats continue and have become more violent over 2014. The spate of bombings in a terror campaign has seen military personnel called into action. Chile’s reduction of overseas troops indicates the need to focus on domestic security issues that has been recognised by President Michelle Bachelet. However, there are further measures to be acted upon in her progressive outline for the Chilean armed forces. The bombings on the Santiago subway have rocked the nation into acting against those cells that perpetrated the attack.

While the number of violent domestic incidents has decreased, the level of violence has increased. In addition, violence between the police force and Mapuche, Chile’s largest indigenous group, continues, with little sign of easing. Currently the Chilean government treats the Mapuches as terrorists under an antiterrorism law; and the struggle continues to cause violent civil unrest; and with an underfunded and, as some consider, under-equipped security force, it is unlikely that the issue will be resolved in the near future.

Nevertheless, more arrests in terms of human-rights abuses during Chile’s dictatorship are being made and anti-corruption campaigns are gaining traction. This is likely to decrease the violence over the medium term, as Chile focuses more on domestic issues rather than international ones.